


Home to Family

by captainamergirl



Category: Days of Our Lives
Genre: AU, Chelsea can't figure out why Max is brooding and distant, Christmas miracles maybe, F/M, Max is brooding, Romance, Shawn Sr has a secret
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2017-09-13
Packaged: 2018-12-27 11:26:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12080121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainamergirl/pseuds/captainamergirl
Summary: Family means everything…To Chelsea Benson, the warm, close-knit Brady family is everything a family should be. Everything her own family wasn't.But the Bradys are facing difficult times, and when Dr. Max Brady comes home for Christmas, Chelsea hardly recognizes the troubled man who'd been her best friend since he'd defended her in the sixth grade. Suddenly Chelsea feels like an outsider….Then Max uncovers a secret about her that his father has kept for decades. Once again, he's there to help her deal with the truth. Only, this time they're becoming more than best friends. And the rest of the Bradys are looking forward to making her an official member of the family.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is written for the "Unconventional Courtship" challenge at Dreamwidth. Our job is to take the summary of a Harlequin novel and adapt it into a fan fiction. Which I did here, but you'll have to decide if it's successful or not. The novel it's based on is "Home to Family" by Ann Evans. Thanks for giving it a look. Feedback is love.

**Chapter 1**  
  
Chelsea Benson surveyed the buffet table as she took a slow sip of white wine. Everything looked delicious – from the hors d'ouvres, to Caroline Brady’s seemingly bottomless bowl of clam chowder, to the three-tiered cream cheese-frosted strawberry cake. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the spread and the decorations she had spent hours putting up. All of the guests appeared content, engaging in pleasant banter.  
  
“Admiring your handiwork?” A familiar voice came from behind her.  
  
Chelsea turned to find her best friend, Stephanie Horton, at her elbow. “Hey,” Chelsea greeted her. “Wow, you look great!” Stephanie wore a soft, silky green dress that brushed the tops of her ankles.  
  
Stephanie chuckled as she palmed the slope of her full belly. “Oh, please. I’m a tank. A total tank.”  
  
“You are not. You're glowing. Pregnancy looks good on you. The color of your dress really sets off your eyes.”  
  
“My eyes may be the only part of my body that haven’t put on an extra twenty pounds with this pregnancy.” She swiped her index finger along the edge of the cake, sticking some frosting between her full lips. "Oooh. That is so good. I think I'm in heaven."   
  
Chelsea smirked. “Hey, that’s for the guests.”  
  
“And who am I – chopped liver?” Stephanie retorted playfully. “I can’t help myself. It's fantastic.”  
  
“Your mom has been so busy greeting well-wishers that she hasn’t even seen the cake yet,” Chelsea said pointedly. "Don't you think she should since she is the guest of honor?"  
  
“I know. I know. I could eat this whole thing in two bites.” Stephanie swiped another lick of icing. _"But_ as tempting as that is, I won’t. Mom deserves to enjoy some too. It is her retirement party, after all… That said, make me walk away, Chels. Make me walk away right now.”  
  
Chelsea laughed and pointed towards the door. “Your husband just got here. Walk over to him and forget about this cake.”  
  
Stephanie sighed dramatically. “I will never forget about that cake, but okay.” She gave Chelsea a quick embrace, the best one she could manage around her huge stomach. In three more weeks, she'd actually be able to get close enough to somebody to give them a real hug. The twins would be arriving very soon. "Thanks for putting all of this together. I know Mom really appreciates the work that you’ve done.”  
  
“Of course.”  
  
Stephanie started to backtrack through the crowd of party-goers. “Oh, do you know who’s coming tonight?”  
  
“Who?” Chelsea fluttered her eyelashes innocently even as her stomach started to do wild flip flops. _Of course_ she knew who was coming!  
  
“My cousin Max,” Stephanie said. “I can’t wait to see him again and I bet I’m not the only one.” She wriggled her eyebrows at Chelsea. Chelsea waved her hand dismissively, making Stephanie laugh bawdily. Stephanie moved to her husband Mike and before long, they were positioned under a sprig of mistletoe in the corner of the room.  
  
Chelsea put some breaded shrimp tails on her plate and decided to make rounds. That was her job, after all -- at least until the end of the night. She had worked as Kayla’s clinic nurse and all-around Girl Friday for the past seven years. She’d loved the work, her boss, the patients… Saying goodbye had always been quite a feat for Chelsea. She felt she had lost too many people she cared about.  
  
Kayla and her husband Steve were moving to London with their youngest child, Joey, and that meant it was time for her to move on, too. She already had a job lined up at the local hospital, though she knew it would take a lot of getting used to.  
  
Chelsea made her way through the large lobby, chatting with guests, directing the caterers to freshen empty glasses, all the while trying to ignore the thundering of her heart in her ears. Max was going to be here any minute with his father Shawn and try as she might, she could not stop thinking about what seeing him again might feel like. She coudn't tell if she was anxious or excited.  
  
xoxox  
  
At some point, she ended up in the back office trying to catch her breath. She flipped on the light, her eyes immediately falling on the desk that had been hers for the past seven years. It was totally bare. She had packed up all of her things the afternoon before while Kayla had examined her very last patient. Chelsea’s throat tightened. This was really it. After tonight, she’d likely never step foot in here again. This place and its people had been such a huge part of her life. This wasn’t supposed to be easy but it shouldn’t be this hard either.  
  
She felt a soft hand come to rest on her shoulder. “Hey there,” Kayla’s familiar voice reached her ears.  
  
Chelsea slowly turned around to face the newly retired doctor. “Hey, Boss... I guess I shouldn't call you that anymore,” she said quietly.  
  
"It's fine." Kayla offered her a smile. “This is a wonderful party, Chelsea. You did a great job putting it together. Everyone seems to be having such a great time, too … everyone except you. Right now, you seem a little sad.”  
  
Chelsea shrugged. “I guess I’m … Well, I just keep thinking how much I’ll miss this place. It started out as just another job for me, a way to pay the bills after nursing school, but it became a lot more. I will miss working here.”  
  
“I understand what you mean. I will miss this clinic, too, and everyone in it. I don’t know what I am thinking - retiring to live out my days overseas.”  
  
“Well, you worked hard and you deserve to be with your family now. You deserve to be happy. It'll be a great adventure. I know it." Chelsea sighed as she tried to put a smile on her face.  
  
“You deserve happiness, Chelsea.” Kayla touched her cheek. “Hey, do you want to know about the exact moment I realized you were the best nurse I’d ever had the pleasure of working with?”  
  
“I don’t know about the best...”  
  
“Absolutely the best… It was about six months into your employment here. I had just given Mrs. Delacorte her diabetes diagnosis. She was understandably heartsick. Nothing I said could calm or reassure her, but you brought her tissues, a listening ear, and held her hand while she cried... I saw your aptitude for caring and your dedication to healing that day and you’ve only gotten better at what you do. It has been nothing short of a pleasure working at your side for these past several years.”  
  
Tears burned Chelsea’s eyes. “It means a lot to me to hear you say that.”  
  
“I have been fortunate to see you grow up first hand. You were an unhappy child and an even unhappier teenager, but you blossomed into such a compassionate and strong young woman… Someone I feel incredibly lucky to know you.”  
  
“T-thank you,” Chelsea said.   
  
“I expect you to stay in touch, you know,” Kayla said. “I expect phone calls and letters and Skype talks, just like I do from Stephanie… Because you are very much a daughter to me, too.”  
  
How did Kayla always know the right thing to say?  
  
A single tear drop rolled down Chelsea’s face. Kayla opened her arms to Chelsea and Chelsea stepped into them with zero hesitation. She embraced Kayla for a long moment, her whole body relishing the warmth of Kayla’s maternal embrace. Chelsea loved her mother Billie, of course she did, but they’d never enjoyed this kind of closeness. They’d never had such an easy bond.  
  
When Chelsea finally pulled away, she noticed Kayla dabbing at the corners of her eyes. The older woman drew in a shaky breath. “You take good care of yourself, alright?”  
  
“I will,” Chelsea promised.  
  
“I am holding you to that... Now, should we head back to the party?”  
  
“Sure. I mean, I don’t want to miss your big speech.”  
  
“What big speech?” Kayla said with a look of mock astonishment.  
  
“You didn’t think you were going to get away without giving one, did you? Without a final toast?”  
  
“Oh, I am not prepared but I suppose I’ll have to think of something, won’t I?” Kayla smiled. “Come on, sweet girl.” She tugged Chelsea out of the office and they headed back to the lobby. They were all too soon parted by party-goers offering Kayla well wishes.  
  
“I’ll Be Home For Christmas” played on the speakers and Chelsea spotted an elderly couple - the Martins - dancing to it, holding each other close as they swayed in time to the slow beat. She smiled softly, even as she wondered if she would ever have that kind of lasting relationship with another human being.  
  
The door opened, drawing her from her thoughts. She turned to see Shawn Brady Sr. walk into the room, bringing a swirl of cold air with him. She smiled at the older man and he smiled back, although her attention quickly turned to the younger man following after him.  
 _  
Max…  
_  
Her heart stared to race and she couldn’t help but stare. She hadn’t seen him in almost a decade, but time had been more than kind to him. He was more handsome than she remembered, his shoulders broader, his dark hair impossibly spiky, his cheeks chiseled and contoured to perfection. His eyes swept the room and finally came to rest on her. She had forgotten what a startling shade of brown they were. He seemed to be be studying her and she found herself questioning _everything_ – did she look good in the new blue dress she had bought just for the occasion? Did her hair look nice pinned up in a chignon? Was her skin flushed pink like she thought it was … Did he remember her at all or had time wiped away all the memories of the years they spent side by side?  
  
He stared at her for about four poignant seconds and then turned away. Her heart dropped into her toes as he did an about-face and headed in the opposite direction, moving to greet his mother Caroline. Chelsea watched him slip his arms around the elderly woman and hold her close for a brief moment. As much as she willed him to look at her, he didn’t. Not even once more that whole evening.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**  
  
The next morning, Chelsea found herself standing on the porch of her mother’s apartment -- the apartment Billie shared with her boyfriend, Alec. Chelsea wasn’t entirely comfortable around Alec, though she couldn’t pinpoint the actual reason why. She just hoped that he wasn’t around now.  
  
Chelsea juggled several grocery bags in her arms as she reached out to knock on the door. There was no response at first so Chelsea pounded on the door again, a little harder this time.  
  
Billie finally appeared. She wore a knee-length gray sleep jersey, one sleeve of which had slid down, exposing her bare olive-skinned shoulder. _“Chels!”_ She exclaimed in surprise. “What are you doing here?”  
  
“Hey, Mom… I brought some leftovers from Kayla’s retirement party last night.”  
  
“Oh, was it last night?” Billie asked, while opening the door wider to let her daughter in.  
  
Chelsea nodded, a bit puzzled by her mother’s response. She could swear that Billie had known all about the event. “Yes. You missed it.”  
  
“I’m sorry,” Billie said, offering no explanation whatsoever for her absence though. Instead she reached out and tugged Chelsea into the apartment. “Get in here. It’s freezing out there, girl, even though there’s still no snow.”  
  
“Fine by me,” Chelsea said. “You know that I don’t like driving in snow.”  
  
“You Grinch. What’s a Christmas without snow?” Billie asked. “Here. Let me take those off your hands.” Chelsea handed Billie the bags of food. Billie set them on the little island in the kitchenette.  
  
“Take a seat,” Billie said, gesturing to the small, leather love seat. Chelsea slipped down onto it and her mother took up the recliner across from her. “So can you stay awhile? We can have a holiday movie marathon.”  
  
“I can’t stay long,” Chelsea answered. “The Bradys have invited me over to have brunch with them this morning.”  
  
“Oh?” Billie said. She looked at her feet for a moment. “That’s nice.”  
  
Chelsea sighed softly. “I hope it will be. And not totally awkward.”  
  
“What do you mean?” Billie asked. “I thought you and the Bradys were thick as thieves.”  
  
Chelsea shifted on the lumpy couch. “Well Max is back in town...”  
  
“That’s nice for you, I bet. Max was always such a nice guy.”  
  
“Yeah, I thought so, too.”  
  
“What do you mean? He’s not nice anymore?”  
  
“Well at the party last night, he completely ignored me. In fact, he acted like I had the plague or something.”  
  
“Oh, well, I am sure that’s not the case. He just got back right? There were probably a lot of people clamoring for his attention. I bet he was just overwhelmed.”  
  
“Hmmm, maybe… I wish I could be sure that that was the reason but I just don’t know...”  
  
Billie peered closely at her daughter’s face. “You still like him, don’t you?” She said as a wry smile started to curl the corners of her mouth.  
  
Chelsea shrugged. “Sure. I mean, of course. He was one my oldest friends. We grew up together. He was good at fighting my battles. I appreciated that, even now.”  
  
“That’s not exactly what I meant, Chelsea. I think you know what I was hinting at, but okay, we’ll leave it at that. Just please don’t let yourself get hurt, okay? Those Bradys are heart-breakers… That’s what I have heard anyway.”  
  
Chelsea scoffed at her mother’s comment. “Oh, yeah? And just how do you figure that?”  
  
“Just an observation. I am really good at reading people or have you forgotten that?” She cleared her throat as she moved to her feet, quickly changing the subject. “Look, do you want a Coke or would you rather have a cup of tea to warm you up before for you go back out into the cold? I’m feeling thirsty. How about you?”  
  
“Nothing for me, thanks. I’m okay.”  
  
“All right. I’ll get something just for me then.” Billie walked over to the little mini-fridge and pulled open the door. Chelsea got a look at the interior of the ice box – including a good look at two bottles of Corona.  
  
“Mom, you have beer?” Chelsea asked. Her voice sounded very own high, even to her own ears.  
  
Billie quickly shut the door to the mini-refrigerator. “Chels, they’re not mine – they belong to Alec. I swear.”  
  
Chelsea stared at her mother in disbelief. “Why would your boyfriend keep beer in the house when he knows you’re an -” Chelsea clamped her mouth shut in order to avoid letting the last word out into the open.   
  
“Chelsea, you can say it. You were going to say _alcoholic,_ weren’t you? That’s what I am, baby. I’m an alcoholic. I’m not proud of it, but let’s not pretend here, okay?”  
  
Chelsea splayed her hands across her tiny kneecaps. When would she ever learn to think before blurting out what was on her mind? Sh didn’t want to hurt Billie. “Mom, you’ve been clean for three months. You just got your first sobriety coin. You told me once that the temptation to drink is always there… I mean, if it’s staring you in the face every time you open that door…” She shook her head, worry written all over her face. “This isn’t good.”  
  
“I’m not going to drink, honey. I promised you the last time that I was done with all of that stuff and I meant it.”  
  
“God, I hope so.”  
  
“Chelsea, I was on a bender for most of your formative years. I made so many mistakes with you because of my addiction, but now that I’m really clean, I don’t want to go back to that insane time. I am not going to risk everything – not when I feel like you and me are finally in a place where you don’t look at me like you hate me.”  
  
“I never hated you. I just hated what you did.” She tucked a strand of smooth, dark brown hair behind her ear. “Anyway, do you want to me to go with you to a meeting at St. Luke’s tonight?”  
  
Billie shook her head. “I don’t need you babysitting me, Chels.”  
  
“Mom-”  
  
“I’m fine, Chelsea. For the first time in forever maybe, I feel good. I am not going to mess that up. I promise. Please stop fretting.”  
  
“Okay...”  
  
“Seriously. Don’t worry about me. Just live your life. Have some fun, all right?”  
  
“I’ll try but...” Chelsea peered up at her mother. “Well, Alec… He treats you right, doesn’t he?”  
  
“Of course, he does. Why would you even ask something like that?”  
  
“Because I barely know the guy. You only knew him for about a day before you moved him in here. You deserve to be treated well, you know? I want you to be happy.”  
  
Billie sighed deeply. “He treats me well, Chelsea. Maybe he’s not your dad, but then, who ever could be?”  
  
Chelsea looked at her feet. “Dad… God, I can’t believe he’s been gone for so long… Sixteen years come February.”  
  
Billie nodded. “I know… He loved you, Chelsea. Please never forget that.”  
  
“I won’t. I just miss him, you know. There are times that I still expect him to come walking in the door after a long day at the office, carrying that old briefcase of his that he refused to part with even though-”  
  
“Even though the handle had been glued and re-glued on about fifty times,” Billie filled in.  
  
“Yes…”  
  
“He was a good man.”  
  
“He was the best.” She sighed. “Anyway, I should get going. I don’t want to be late for brunch.”  
  
“Okay… Well, thanks for stopping by and bringing the food.”  
  
“I hope you like everything.” Chelsea gave her mom a quick hug and moved for the door. Alec came out of the backroom as she was stepping onto the porch.  
  
“Hey, Chelsea,” he said, scratching his heavily tattooed arm.  
  
“Hey, Alec. Bye, Alec,” she said. She waved to her mom and then hurried down the steps.  
  
xoxoxo  
  
 _Max was smack-dab in the middle of that dream again. The one where he danced with Chelsea, enjoying the way she fit just so in his arms. She wore a creamy white dress that hugged her soft, feminine curves. He knew somehow that it was a dream. Yet it felt so real that he could have sworn that the scent of her lilac perfume tickled his nostrils.  
  
It quickly became anything but a pleasant dream, though. Rather, it was a terrfying nightmare, now. It ran on out of control, like a freight train without an engineer, careening off the tracks.  
  
Max saw the familiar, craggy face of the madman as he stormed into the room. The madman drew a gun. Max tried, as he always did, to jump in front of Chelsea, to protect her, to take that bullet for himself, but the sound of the shot was already reverberating in his ears. Foreboding laced through him as he felt Chelsea go limp in his arms. He cried out her name again and again as she sagged against him. He felt the stickiness of what he knew was blood on his fingertips. He turned her in his embrace and saw the seeping crimson stain on the back of her dress. He told her to hold on. Please, hold on! But in his heart, he knew it was too late. As always, too late._  
  
He awoke with a silent scream on his lips. He gasped hard, reaching in vain for a breath that simply would not come. His sheets were tangled about his lean body, soaked with his own sweat. He felt dreadfully ill. His stomach roiled and it was all he could do not to dash for the adjoining bathroom and throw up. He knew why he had this nightmare; he just didn’t know why Chelsea was always the face he saw in those dreams; why she had to be the one gunned down like an animal in cold blood.  
  
He struggled from his bed – his childhood bed in his parents’ home. He had to remind himself that he was there, in Salem, and that everything was fine, everything was calm. The past was far away.  
 _  
If only…_  
  
He heard the sounds of merrymaking downstairs. _Life._ There was life here, and hope and joy, too. Things he had long since stopped believing that he, himself, deserved.  
  
He grabbed a pair of trousers, a long-sleeved shirt, a pair of boxers, and a set of terrycloth towels and headed into the bathroom. Locking the door after him, he stripped out of his underwear and tee-shirt and stepped into the shower. The water was immediately bracing and impossibly cold. It was December after all and chilly beyond description. He should have turned on the hot spray to warm his body, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. The iciness… It was how he felt inside anyway. The numbness that haunted him… It was ever-present, dogging his every step. It matched his mood all too well.  
  
He took a long shower, slowly scrubbing his body down with the plain Irish Spring soap he’d always used. He took his time because he was in no mood to head downstairs and join in the family  _togetherness,_ not just yet. He had to work up to that.  
  
After he had toweled dry and dressed, he brushed his teeth, scraping them almost violently with the hard bristles. He dared not look in the mirror. He didn’t want to see himself; didn’t want to see the haunted look he knew reflected in his wide brown eyes.  
  
Finally, when he could stall no longer, he headed out of the bathroom. He had no sooner stepped out of the room, than he was tackled. Pink, chubby little arms dashed around his waist and clutched him tightly. “Uncle Max,  _Uncle Max!"_  Sydney squealed happily. “Guess what?”  
  
Max smiled, or tried his best anyway. He rumpled the little girl’s soft, wavy, flaxen-blonde hair. “I can’t even begin to guess.” He noticed Stephanie trudging up the nearby stairs, holding her full belly.  
  
“I’m sorry,” Stephanie said. “I couldn’t hold her off for another second. Sami gave me babysitting duties while she helps Johnny and Allie wrap some presents.”  
  
“It’s alright,” Max said. He looked back down at Sydney. “So what’s this big news?”  
  
Sydney squeezed him tightly, in a surprisingly strong and punishing grip for a young child. There was a dreamy look in her big blue eyes. “I’m getting 'dopted!” Sydney cried happily.  
  
“Dopted?” Max echoed questioningly.  
  
“Yeah! Rafe is going to ‘dopt me and Johnny since he’s getting married to Mommy and we don’t have a daddy anymore. He’s going to be my new Papa!” Sydney enthused.  
  
“Oh,  _adopted,”_  Max said in understanding. “And that’s wonderful news.”  
  
Sydney nodded. “Yep. ‘Cause I like Rafe!”  
  
“I am glad that you do.”  
  
“And Mommy told me something about you.”  
  
“What was that?”  
  
“She told me you were ‘dopted too. That Grammy Caroline never had you in her stomach. Is that true?”  
  
Max nodded. “Your mommy is absolutely right about that,” he said. “But you know what?”  
  
“What?”  
  
He leaned close to her ear, as if offering her a profound secret. “Family isn’t always about who made you; it’s about how those people make you  _feel.”_  
  
“Papa Rafe … He makes me feel safe, Uncle Max. He makes me feel happy. I know he loves me and Mommy. And Johnny and Allie, too.”  
  
“I’m really happy for you.”  
  
Sydney grinned up at him, squeezed him once more around the waist, and then turned, tearing down the hall. He suspected that she was on a mission to find the next person in the household she could tell her exciting news to.  
  
Stephanie smiled as she shook her head. “She’s a bundle of energy.”  
  
Max nodded to Stephanie’s full stomach. “You should get used to it. You’re going to have not one, but two, kids to keep up with soon.”  
  
Stephanie rolled her eyes. “I know. But I’m looking forward to it, honestly. I just want them to be born already. I feel so fat and useless.”  
  
“Nah,” Max said. “You look great.”  
  
Stephanie smirked. “If you say so. Anyway, I better go find Sydney.” She waved to her adopted cousin and disappeared down the hall as well. Max took a deep breath and went down the staircase.  
  
The house was full of Bradys, including Bradys by marriage. It was the kind of chaos only a big family could create. His mother Caroline stood at the stove, frying thick strips of bacon. She spotted Max through the crowd of family and waved him over. She rose up on her tip-toes to give him a big kiss on the cheek.  
  
“Max,” she said. “How did you sleep?”  
  
“Like a rock,” Max said. It was half-true anyway. He had slept alright - tired from his long flight, as he was - at least before the nightmare started up.  
  
“I’m so glad. Does it feel odd – sleeping in your childhood bedroom again?”  
  
Max scratched the back of his neck. “A bit.”  
  
“Are you happy to be home, Son?”  
  
Max looked away for a moment. “Yes, of course. I shouldn’t have stayed away so long.” It was the party line, something he knew he _should_  say. He didn’t want anyone asking a bunch of questions, worrying about him when there was nothing they could do to fix things anyway. He was broken; he was damaged. He could acknowledge that – if only to himself.  
  
The doorbell suddenly rang and he thought that he was saved by the bell. Caroline looked at him with an easy smile. “Honey, can you get that? I’m afraid I’ve got my hands full at the moment.”  
  
“Yes, sure,” Max agreed and hurried towards the living room, grateful for an escape, even for a moment.  
  
He moved for the door and yanked it open. His eyes bugged out in surprise as he saw who stood there, looking far too lovely in a soft blue woolen overcoat and denim jeans.  
  
 _“Chelsea,"_ he said breathlessly.


End file.
